coon hunting handguns

[riggingmissdaisy]

Deff that 22 hornet barrel sure does the job as well i love those contenders

[houndman5]

lol what do you guys need guns for? i climb the tree and kick them out.

[riverrun1986]

Lol i got a buddy who does that

[houndman5]

good to let the dogz fight one for a lil bit lol. ive been bit 5 times

[riverrun1986]

Had one in a hollow stump time i got there thought my dogs took care of it poked it back up underneath after i got my dogs out and it didnt move reached in there and got it right between my thumb and pointer finger that was a great emergency room trip

[houndman5]

little basterds are mean

[duxtoyz]

pound for pound the meanest lil suckers in the woods, but sure fun to hunt.

[Hochlander]

Some good advice and even better stories. Thanks everyone.

N.

[hectorp]

Let me tell you my experience with pistols for coons.
When I grew up Jaguar hunting was permited, my father who is a former olympic team member in pistol shooting he attended 1960 olympics in Rome in the discipline Rapid Fire Pistol. He kill about 20 jaguars with hounds with a colt phyton .357 they were treed at daytime.

So when I began coonhunting about 14 years ago, I was going to kill them with a Colt Diamondback 6 inches .22 pistol. Is the .22 version of the colt pyhton. I have being practice pistol shooting all my life in competition level. Shoot very good in the olympic sport Free Pistol and Air Pistol. The Free pistol you shoot at 50 meteres with .22 with open sights. So I have no douts is was going to be easy shooting.

Here in Mexico where I live trees have leaves year round and they are very tall trees. Coons in some places are scare and the onces they survive are very smart. After having a hard race and the dogs finally were able to tree the coon. I got to the tree and try to shoot the coon. In the dark with a light with open sights to a coon that was on the top of the tree that you sometimes only see the eyes with leaves all around, sometimes from 10 to 15 meters far or maybe more. It was very difficult to make a good shot to that coon. After missing some coons and they sometimes jump at the first shot and my hounds were not able to treed them again. I told to myself if my dogs do the job I am going to do my part.

I bought a Rifle Remington .22 Pump model 572 fieldmaster. Put a Leupold Vari III 1.5-5 power, Pump version it is for safety reason. Have never like semiautomatics for hunting. I have never miss a coon again and I can hit them in the head, in one arm, the heart, wherever I want.

[hectorp]

But you were asking for a pistol.

Here in Mexico we have guns laws that are awful. Honest citizens very difficult to acquire guns. The outlaws have all kind of guns.

But If I was able to by a pistol for coonhunting. I will go for the Ruger Single Six, barrel six inches in .22 caliber and put a good quality pistol telescope I think that will do the job. I prefer the Single six than the Ruger Mark III only for safety reason. I dont like to have a cartidge in the barrel ready to shoot only with the safety on. After the hounds running in the dark that you can have a bad step and a accident may occur.

Maybe if you are very cautious with semi automatic. Only load in the chamber when you are going to shoot. After you finish the shooting always unload and leave the cartidges only in the magazine not in the chamber.

You dont need more than a .22 caliber.

Those are my experience I hope it helps.

[blohmeier]

I use a Ruger Mk III and shoot mini-mags. Works awesome for me.

[2ndhound]

Hectorp,
Good advice on the semi auto safety issues, I hunt the same way with my MarkII,
I much prefer a revolver on an empty chamber, but at the moment the semi auto will have to do.
If I chamber a round and fire the first thing I do is remove the magazine and eject the next loaded round. if I feel antsy about anything Ive done I will check and recheck again.
I trust no firearms safety's no matter the type of action, I always hunt with an empty chamber. yep I may be overly cautious but I have had a few friends who were careless or confident in the firearm they had and paid the price.
Sounds to me like you know your stuff about guns in general.
If a fella uses them long enough he comes to learn that someday he or she will have a mishap.

To the original poster yep pistols will work pretty good in some situations.
shot placement wise rifle all the way your choice
JMO good luck to you
Ken

[Gary Roberson]

Hector
I appreciate the input. I am a semi-auto fan and am currently and have been for years, a Browning Buckmark slabside. It has had a trigger job and shoots very accurately. I prefer the pistol as I am lazy and prefer to have my hands free at all times. I do not carry with a shell in the chamber for safetly reasons.
I just traded for a Kel-Tec PMR 30 in .22 Magnum. It is more firepower than what I need but it is extremely easy to carry. Weighs 13.6 oz. and has a 5" barrel, hi viz sights and holds 30 rounds. It has an excellent trigger from the factory. I carry it when hunting country that is rough to cut down on weight.
Sally had to go to the vet yesterday as she cut her belly when crossing one of the five fences she crossed while trailing a coon that would not tree. She will be fine but will have to take a few days off from hunting. I really like this female. She has a lot of try and has a very good nose. I have been having trouble treeing coons lately as the dogs have been catching on the ground. I guess it may be the full moon. Turkey season ends in a few days and that will open a lot more real estate for me.
Right now, your female is ahead of mine. Mine is a little more tree minded and will pull up treed when there is not a coon there. Sally is not quick to tree so she is not a competition type hound. She will not tree unless she is sure the coon is there, the way ALL dogs should be. Sally uses her mouth more when trailing and has started several tracks. She has not trashed in two months and continues to make progress. It will be important for you to continue to hunt her after you pick her up. She likes to go everyday and is one of those dogs that can take a lot of mileage. I try to hunt most mornings and average 12 miles at over 6 miles per hour according to my Garmin. She is an easy keeper. In other words, she eats when you feed her and somehow keeps her weight inspite of the heat and miles.
Adios,
Gary

[Badlandcat]

Always packin my FN-57 in 5.7 x 28, with a green laser. Here in MT if you start shootin out coons you will be without coons in a couple nights.
Good hounds don't need coons shot out all the time, 3 or 4 a year is all.(JMO)

[hectorp]

Gary, the browning buckmark its a great pistol, just never like semi auto for hunting. Just keep doing what you have being doing, never carry a shell in the chamber for safety reason. I have being with guns all of my life. I have shot and own some of the elite guns of the .22 caliber with supreme accuracy for competition shooting. Like the Hammerli 208, Sako Tri Ace, the Walther, Domino, Unique those pistol are for target shooting and they make a group of less than .5 and inch at 25 meters.

But for coonhunting you don´t need that much accuracy. The problem with pistol is too see the sights at night, with a good telescope or maybe a laser sight will be just fine.

I have never heard of the Kel-Tec PMR 30. Look for it at the internet, as you said to much pistol for coons. And check this page for what I read. http://gunnuts.net/2011/05/16/kel-tec-pmr-30-suspended/

I will PM you, about Sally.

Ken, keep being careful with the semiautomatic, is better to be extra cautious, than to have an accident.

About the new revolvers from the 70's till now, all have a safety they call cross bar, where, this safety keep the hammer for resting in the cartidge. So the models from 80´s and up have this internal safety and you can carry loaded al the cylinder with no problem of and accidental discharge. You have to pull the trigger to be able to shoot.

Saludos,